Spain, unlike the US, is getting serious about arresting bankster criminals. Rodrigo Rato, former vice-president of Spain, former president of the IMF, and former president of Bankia, has been indicted on serious criminal charges including tax fraud, money laundering, and embezzlement.
His real crime apparently was stealing from the central government, and that is just not forgivable for the 1%. Fleecing the people is quite permissible if you are an autocrat, but stealing from the government and central banks is not. When Rato was arrested, hordes of media were present to watch his perp walk. Clearly, he will be broken and humiliated. He is also facing bankruptcy as well as prison.
He had returned to Madrid from Geneva, where he’d been trying to hide his money, flew coach, and was heckled by passengers the entire way. Good. When will the US indict its obvious bankster criminals and when will the US public harass, not exalt them? Hopefully soon.
The IMF presidency is no longer a guarantee of judicial immunity. That two of the last three IMF chiefs have seen the inside of a jail cell system – one for alleged rape, the other for financial crimes – is the perfect indictment of the moral state of the current financial system. Indeed, the current occupant of the position, Christine Lagarde, allegedly was herself deeply implicated in the Bernard Tapie affair, although she was eventually assigned the status of “assisted witness.”